Saturday afternoon game thread: @ Blue Jays, 3:07 pm

The Orioles have won 10 of their last 14 games and are just two games under .500. With their win last night, they have pulled ahead of the Blue Jays to take sole possession of third place in the American League East. They sit 1/2 game back of the third Wild Card spot. The team in the last spot, the Rangers, have the same number of wins as the Orioles.

It’s dangerous to have too much hope because this team has let us down many times before. But the longer this stretch of good play goes on, the easier it is to feel good. And with Kyle Bradish on the mound today, it’s even easier to think we could see another win.

After a clunker to kick off the month of May, Bradish kicked off a fantastic five-start run in which he pitched to a 1.72 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 31.1 innings. His last start of May came against these very Blue Jays, and he pitched seven innings with on unearned run allowed. On May 2nd, his ERA was 5.04; it is now 3.44. I am excited to say that Kyle Bradish is back.

The Orioles will face opener Brayd0n Fisher today, a righty relief pitcher with a 2.82 ERA and sub-1 WHIP. He’s pitched in 32 games this year but has made just two appearances as an opener. Against the Yankees, he pitched 1.1 innings. He faced five batters and struck out four. Against the Marlins, he pitched a scoreless first with one hit allowed.

If you’re wondering about the health of Samuel Basallo, you’re not alone. Basallo exited yesterday’s game early with abdominal soreness. Craig Albernaz told reporters today that Basallo is still being evaluated, but hopes to avoid a trip to the Injured List. In the meantime, Sam Huff has been activated from the taxi squad. Weston Wilson was DFA’s to make room.

Orioles lineup

Taylor Ward (R) DH
Gunnar Henderson (L) SS
Adley Rutschman (S) C
Pete Alonso (R) 1B
Coby Mayo (R) 3B
Leody Taveras (S) CF
Colton Cowser (L) RF
Blaze Alexander (R) LF
Jackson Holliday (L) 2B

Blue Jays lineup

George Springer (R) DH
Nathan Lukes (L) RF
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (R) 1B
Jesús Sánchez (L) LF
Ernie Clement (R) 2B
Brandon Valenzuela (S) C
Kazuma Okamoto (R) 3B
Andrés Giménez (L) SS
Myles Straw (R) CF

Let’s go O’s!